Linux and connecting to net

[silence]

got SuSe 10 RC1 running and it really looks nice and i do like it....
but when i try to conncet.... it says connection is "lurking"...

WTF does that mean?.... nay ideas ? pretty please??????


EDIT :: looks like something is wrong with my ethernet card and DHCP... at least under Linux.... grrr.... i installed SuSe, Kubuntu and Linspire today and tried Knoppix,linspire and Ubuntu live CDs...same shit.....

btw..... i think it could be modem, last time i was playing with linux so much i had diff DSL modem....
bastards....

 

[Frank]

What does "ifconfig" say? And try "route" when you're at it. Do you have an ip adress and default gateway? But I suspect your connection is blocked somewhere by a firewall or such. "traceroute" can help there. And "dig" will give you the details when you do have an ip adress and gateway.

In /etc there is a map or file called "network". Check what it says.

 

[Hector]

Look if your modem is supported. That could be the problem.

 

[silence]

Look if your modem is supported. That could be the problem.

it seems like thats the case... i tried Knoppix 4.0, it said that DHCP wont configure, so it configuered IP adress, but still nothing.... they all detect modem, but it seems like nothing is going through that modem....

with my old modem i was able to connect, so its prolly that....

 

[wireframe]

If you have an ethernet modem it should be transparent. It should just be talking ethernet and nothing about your modem should matter (USB is a different, horrible, story). Does your ISP require you to use some PPPOE dialling software?

What modem are you using and how is it connected? (is it sitting on a network behind a router or anything like that?)

You say "they detect" the modem. This seems to suggest a USB interface...

 

[silence]

i use ethernet interface on modem.... no router.... yes, they require PPOE....
modem is Siemens ADSL C-010-I

on old Ericsson 220di modem it all worked.... thats the worst and most frustrating part....

same version of Knoppix that had no trouble in connecting to net before, wont connect now... and that "Status:lurking" i get in SuSe is really weird.... as far as i know you are either connected or not....

 

[wireframe]

Ok, I am a bit confused about your configuration. I am assuming that this is all working under Windows. Is that right? I have no idea how much you know about Linux or networking in general so it's a bit difficult to suggest a quick fix.

The status = lurking message means that the network connection is waiting for a trigger to initiate a dial-up to establish a PPPOE session, in this case. So, if you have entered all your information in YaST's DSL configuration, it should then pass this information over to your ISP to connect. This is a somewhat outdated method and I believe your modem has its own dialler which you can set to establisht the connection and then even leave it at "always on". However, if your modem is set to "bridged" mode it will require that this is done on the PC as bridging basically makes the modem become part of the computer and not a separate device (host).

The best method, if available, is to set the modem/router to PPPOE, enter your dialling information, set it to "always on" and then the router will act as the connected client and pass data between your PC and the Internet through NAT. If this is not done it may still be possible.

If this works on Windows, do you need software installed on the PC to "dial in" or is this handled by the modem's PPPOE client?

Have you tried not using DHCP?

Running Linux, what does "ifconfig" return for eth0 (root)?

You should be seeing something like 192.168.1.x (where x is not 0,1, or 255). The modem should have 192.168.1.1 by default if it is NATing. If you are seeing a 'proper' routable IP address, then you are bridged and your computer is acting as if the modem is internal and must therefore be controlled by the PC.

Do you have multiple NICs? Give us some more details about how you are set up and what works where (like "Windows works..same setup") and what doesn't.

If your modem has the default IP of 192.168.1.1 and you configure your NIC to 192.168.1.2 you should be able to successfully ping 192.168.1.1 and access its internal web interface in a browser (default user= admin, password=epicrouter) to confirm the settings on the modem. If this is possible and you can successfully connect using the modem's internal dialler, and you are currently using something like EnterNet on Windows, you will have to ditch EnterNet and only use the modem's internal dialler.

BTW, it's not easy getting information about this modem/router. It must be the most obscure piece of DSL hardware I have ever heard of.

Did you use dialling software with the Ericsson?

As you can tell, I am all over the place here. I need more information. At least consider the "status:lurking" to be confirmed as "waiting for command to establish a PPPOE session." The logical next step, after a trigger, is "connecting" and then "connected".

 

[wireframe]

My brain just woke up and I realized something.

If your NIC is "lurking" you must be running in bridged mode. This means you either didn't enter the information correctly in the YaST DSL configurator or the dialler is not working for some reason.

You really should access the modem's configurator and see if you can run it using the modem's dialling client.

This must also mean that you are using dialling software in Windows to establish a PPPOE session. If you change the modem to handle the connection your Windows software will freak out so you need to get rid of that once you have confirmed that it works under Linux.

Write down all your settings before messing around. One or two beers help, but after six beers I would recommend not messing about too much unless you know what you are doing.

 

[silence]

My brain just woke up and I realized something.

If your NIC is "lurking" you must be running in bridged mode. This means you either didn't enter the information correctly in the YaST DSL configurator or the dialler is not working for some reason.

You really should access the modem's configurator and see if you can run it using the modem's dialling client.

This must also mean that you are using dialling software in Windows to establish a PPPOE session. If you change the modem to handle the connection your Windows software will freak out so you need to get rid of that once you have confirmed that it works under Linux.

Write down all your settings before messing around. One or two beers help, but after six beers I would recommend not messing about too much unless you know what you are doing.

LOL..... i tried with one beer, two....six..... didnt help, cant get that modem drunk at all...

so i guess it is the modem, which i suspected, cause (as i said) with old modem it all worked well... but i didnt change any software in win for new modem to work.... thats weird IMO...

i entered information in YaST in all possible and impossible combination, i even went to Win to change my connection pass with my ISP to be sure i am not using wrong one

and what really got me is that Knoppix, which had no trouble whatsoever with old modem, didnt want to work with new one at all....



since i am both networking AND Linux noob (just check under my name) i'll print out this and reinstall SuSe and see if i can make it work.... worrying part is that Win might freak out, but i can use Linux for web and PHP coding (also noobish).

thnx very much, as soon as i catch some time i will do this....

 

[wireframe]

Try this in Windows:

1. Establish an Internet connection.

2. Open the command prompt: either a) Start -> Run... -> "CMD" (without the quotes) or b) Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt

3. Type: "ipconfig" (without the quotes) and press enter. (Optional: use "ipconfig -all" to get more verbose output. This is better, but you will want to edit out MAC address and anything else you don't wish to share with a public audience.

4. This should return something resembling this format, but your numbers may be differernt, of course:

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.5
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

5. Copy these values and post them on her. BUT if your entry for "IP Address" does not begin with 10, 172.16, or 192.168 do not copy it on here as you would probably be publishing you Internet IP (don't trust anyone! <pets beer #5 and looks around suspiciously, especially at beer #6>). Instead, copy only the first value in the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx sequence. Also remove your MAC address and host name, or anything that you feel might identify your computer on the Net. You can see that my IP address begins with 192.168. Lots of computers have my IP as it is part of a reserved range that is not Internet routable (ie: you cannot identify me with this IP, how would the routers between you and me know which 192.168.1.5 you are referring to when there are thousands of computers with that IP?)

PS. I just had another thought. GNU/Linux is quite forward in that they already have a full implementaiton of IPv6 and this is usually enabled by default, but may cause trouble. It is possible that disabling IPv6 will help and you should probably do so anyways unless IPv6 is something you need (if you don't know if you need it or not, you don't .

Information on how to disable IPv6 on SuSE systems

 

[silence]

169.xxx.xxx.xxx
255.255.0.0

thats it.... and i got PP specific, which my ISP's IP....

 

[Frank]

I would really suggest you buy yourself a decent router. I would recommend a Linksys. Let that router worry about connecting you to the internet and keeping you safe. They're cheap for what you get in convenience.

 

[wireframe]

I would really suggest you buy yourself a decent router. I would recommend a Linksys. Let that router worry about connecting you to the internet and keeping you safe. They're cheap for what you get in convenience.

According to what I can find on the modem in question this is a router, but with a single port, so you would have to attach a switch to it to use multiple computers behind it (or other methods). The problem is that he has it in bridged mode. I don't know if this is necessary or not. I assume the modem/router has a PPPOE client built in and he can use that instead. That's what we are about to find out.

 

[wireframe]

169.xxx.xxx.xxx
255.255.0.0

This IP is under Windows, right? Would it be 169.254.xxx.xxx ? See this page about what this means. Basically it means that your computer was expecting a DHCP configuration but didn't acquire one. FYI, if you also see an IP such as 127.0.0.1, then this is the loopback IP address, which all hosts have. It's sort of a dummy address that allows you to do certain things without being attached to a network. Ignore it.

Ok, so you are definitely bridged. Which means you must have installed some software in Windows for connecting to the Internet (EnterNet?). Please confirm this. Did you use some software with the previous Ericsson? Did you uninstall that and install something new with the new Siemens modem? Did you enter any DSL configuration in YaST with the Ericsson? I really want to know the answers to these things.

I am betting on that the Ericsson was using the integrated PPPOE dialler, you did not install any software for it in Windows and it just worked. I also bet that with the new Siemens modem you installed EnterNet under Windows and your YaST DSL Configurator is not playing nice with the Siemens modem.

I am also quite sure that the new Siemens modem can be configured to use the internal PPPOE client so it is completely transparent to any attached device. You PC will use a "LAN" connection to the Internet. No software is needed. However, if you use software to connect now (a la EnterNet), then you will have to remove/reconfigure this to work in a transparent mode. Don't shy away from this. This is the preferred method unless you pay per hour of Internet access and the modem does not have convenient "idle timeout" features (most, if not all, do).

Have you tried accessing the modem's configuration interface? I'd bet that it is sitting at 192.168.1.1.

To access this page you must not be connected to the Internet. This may mean that the IP configuration for your NIC is garbage (this information is filled in by the dialling software when it bridges to the modem like in your posted example). You may want to try the same "ipconfig" command before connecting to see what your IP is then.

In fact, you should now use the "ipconfig -all" command before and after dialling the Net. Copy these down to a text document. The easiest way of doing this is to.

1. Reboot (do not connect to Net)
2. Open Command Promp (default directory is C:\Documents And Settings\<user>)
3. Type: CD Desktop (this should make your current directory C:\Documents And Settings\<user>\Desktop, which is the Windows desktop)
4. Type: ipconfig -all > Unconnected.txt
5. Connect to Internet and make sure you have an established session (browse at least one page)
6. Type: ipconfig -all > Connected.txt

You should now have two documents on your dekstop called Unconnected.txt and Connected.txt. The ">" command tells Windows to direct the output to a file, just like BASH in Linux. For example, my output (which is constant because I do not use a dialler or DHCP) looks like this (all the entries with <some text> have been manipulated by me to remove information or edit the information into something generic:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : <removed>
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI
Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : <removed>
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.5
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : AAA.BBB.CCC.DDD <edited>
AAA.BBB.CCC.DDD <edited>

 

[silence]

This IP is under Windows, right? Would it be 169.254.xxx.xxx ? See this page about what this means. Basically it means that your computer was expecting a DHCP configuration but didn't acquire one. FYI, if you also see an IP such as 127.0.0.1, then this is the loopback IP address, which all hosts have. It's sort of a dummy address that allows you to do certain things without being attached to a network. Ignore it.

Ok, so you are definitely bridged. Which means you must have installed some software in Windows for connecting to the Internet (EnterNet?). Please confirm this. Did you use some software with the previous Ericsson? Did you uninstall that and install something new with the new Siemens modem? Did you enter any DSL configuration in YaST with the Ericsson? I really want to know the answers to these things.

i knew 169 was LAN adress....
yap, there is configuring tool for PPoE, but i dunno its name... i'll chack with my ISP.
nope... software didnt change when i had to switch modems....
no,,,i ididnt change softare under Linux

i didnt have SuSe back then (installed, had it on DVD -9.3), but i used Knoppix and it worked, while now same Knoppix wont.....

 

[silence]

thnx for rest... i'll print out this whole topic and give it another try
you have been really great help..... thanks again......

 

[wireframe]

i knew 169 was LAN adress....
yap, there is configuring tool for PPoE, but i dunno its name... i'll chack with my ISP.
nope... software didnt change when i had to switch modems....
no,,,i ididnt change softare under Linux

Ok, I still think you should look into the possibility of uninstalling this software and using the modem's dialler. It is a much better solution as long as it works. You would just have to enter the dialling information from your Windows dialling software into the modem's client and you should be good.

i didnt have SuSe back then (installed, had it on DVD -9.3), but i used Knoppix and it worked, while now same Knoppix wont.....

That's strange. Did you check the possibility of IPv6 being enabled (as I mentioned some posts up)? Some hardware deal better with this than others. Some hardware also have issues with ARP.

I so wish I was sitting next to this hardware now. I can smell the solution and I want to taste victory. "Just five minutes, Worm your honor, Him and Me, alone..." - Pink Floyd

 

[silence]

as i said,,i have lots of info now, i just need to get some time to do try it all.....
thnx guys.... i'll try over the weekend and post results here....

 

[Frank]

I couldn't find any info on the Siemens either. But I'll give it a try as well, in the step-by-step way.

First, make sure you have the following data at hand:

1. Your ISP's name (and check their website for the other info)

2. Your username and password from them

3. Type connection (probably PPOE/PPOA, as you said)

4. VPI and VCI values (varies)

5. Encapsulation type (probably VCMUX)

6. Protocol (probably PPOA)

7. Modulation (probably G.MDT)

8. The DNS server(s), if not automatic

9. Your IP adress, if no DHCP

Next, reset your modem/router to factory defaults. Most often, this is done by inserting a paper clip into the reset button (and keep it there), removing the power connection, wait a few seconds, insert it, press the power button if it has one, wait ten seconds and remove the paper clip.

(x = the previously seen/selected number in all cases.)

Edit: the network mask is always 255.255.255.0 or /24, depending on the format

Now, open a command prompt, and enter "ipconfig /release", followed by "ipconfig /renew". Check what IP adress you got with "ipconfig". If it is 10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x, you're fine. Open your browser and go to 10.x.x.138 or 192.168.x.1 and you're in the configuration menu.

If you've got a different IP adress, you have to do some more work. It would be best to check the documentation of the router, but if you lost that, you can do the following:

1. Configure your network card to use a fixed IP adress, 192.168.0.150
2. Open your browser and go to 192.168.0.1

If that doesn't work, try the following combinations:

192.168.1.150 and 192.168.1.1
10.0.0.150 and 10.0.0.138

If those don't work, you've got a problem and really need the manual, but the chance is very small.

When you're inside the configuration page of your browser, choose the setup or WAN configuration page, and fill in the information above.

When done, select the LAN setup page, and give the router itself the adress 192.168.x.1. Then go to the DHCP page, add a new pool or enable it, and give it an adress pool of 192.168.x.50 - 192.168.x.100

Save all, and reboot the router (through the menu or by removing the power plug).

If you set the network card to a fixed adress, change it back to automatic. Do "ipconfig /release" "ipconfig / renew" "ipconfig" again, and see that you got the adress 192.168.x.50 and check your internet connection.

You're done!

 

[silence]

(9) i dont have my own IP adress.... Croatia doesnt have enough for everyone, i have dynamic IP with prefix to my ISP's IP that is different everytime i connect... i guess thats why i need DHCP?

(now you see why i am Senior Noob)